Sign Language From The Stands

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Senior Cooper Walker is faced with a life changing news from his family about his father’s health, but how he’s been coping is what stands out.

Walker has always been big into sports, but he doesn’t seem to have the size most of his teammates have. However, he’s got the biggest heart on the field and the biggest fan in the stands, his father. Growing up playing sports gave Cooper a challenge by always having to play bigger and tougher players. Having his father out in the crowd or sometimes coaching has given him the heart to go out and play bigger than anyone on the field or the court.

Walking through the front doors of the school from the student drop off area, senior banners rain down from all the fall sports teams. Every year the seniors get creative with what pose or what prop the want to use and they put their own little spin on it, but Walkers stands out from all the others. Turns out his pose has nothing to do with the sport itself, it has to do with his connection to his dad.

“So, I’ve been playing football for 10 years of my life and I’ve always been the smallest on my team. So, my dad has always supported me playing football and he’s always kept me going. My dad has stage three bone cancer, so at the time I didn’t know when he was going to go. So, we made up a sign language thing, if you have ever seen me play football every time I step on the field my dad whistles from the stands I look up to see him knuckle bump three times. I do it back and what it means is to go out there and knock someone out, go hard and it’s been with me ever since,” Walker said.

After watching his father battle cancer for 10 years now, it gives him heart and the motivation to never quit.